While in the office this week, many of you stopped by the tax office to inquire about the increase in your motor vehicle tax bill.  Canton has not changed the mill rate on your motor vehicle tax in the past 4 years as we maintain the statutory cap at 32.46 mills.

You may be wondering, if the mill rate hasn’t changed in 4 years and my car is getting older, why do I have to pay more?

Simply,  the state changed the way motor vehicle taxes are calculated.  Previously,  towns would utilize the market rate of a motor vehicle (think of the Kelly Blue Book value) multiply that by 70% to get the assessed value and then multiply that by the mill rate to get the final bill due.

Currently,  towns are required by state statue to use the MSRP (bye bye, Kelly Blue Book) to get the value of the vehicle and then a  depreciation schedule (85%-15% over 20 years) is applied with a minimum of $500.00 in assessed value. This number is then multiplied by the mill rate to get the final bill due.

If your tax increased, most likely it is attributable to the increase from the market rate (Kelly Blue Book) to the MSRP (Manufacture Suggested Retail Price).   The State of Connecticut provides our tax office with the MSRP on an annual basis.

I hope this helps clarify the  changes to the MV personal property tax change.

Thank you, Kevin Witkos, First Selectmen